There’s some discussion among web designers and developers regarding whether a web site or blog needs to be pretty or not. Do looks matter? Is the design important? After all, content is what’s supposed to matter, right?

Not entirely. There are a number of reasons for having a clean, nice looking, well designed web site and blog.

Consider if you had a physical location for your store. Do looks matter there? Of course they do. You want a clean, attractive, well-organized store. It should be inviting and welcoming. You wouldn’t have a gourmet coffee shop with spills on the counter and trash on the floor. You wouldn’t have plain concrete floors and unfinished walls.

In the same way, your web site looks matter. If you think of your web site as a store, then you should give it the same consideration. Make it inviting and warm. Make it a place where people want to hang out for awhile. Don’t put up flashy signs or bright neon colors. Don’t make it cluttered and messy. Make it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for. Give them good, clear pictures, too.

By all means, looks matter. Does pretty matter? That could depend on the purpose of your site. There are news sites that have a clean, uncluttered look but would never be considered pretty. And that’s ok. But consider if you’re trying to sell jewelry, or beauty products, or clothing. Your visitors will be more drawn to your site if it looks pretty.

Here’s some things to consider for your web site:

Make your visitors want to visit a while
Give your visitors a nice design that’s easy on the eyes and they may hang around longer. Make it welcoming and inviting.

Make your identity known
Your web site is an extension of your brand. Your brand is very important. It is how people recognize your company. Everything about your company should have a similar look and feel. Otherwise you’re going to confuse visitors to your web site or blog. They may not realize that it is part of your company. In the same way, all the pages of your web site should have a similar look. They don’t have to be exact, but it should always be obvious that you’re still on the same site.

Stand out from the crowd
You don’t need neon lights and bright colors for this. But your web site should be your own. Canned templates won’t usually work for this. There’s no substitute for a good design.

Be consistent
Use your logo, color scheme and general design on every page. You can have variation. But your visitors should never wonder if they’re still on your web site.

Your web site doesn’t have to be beauty contest material, and content is still very important, but make sure your visitors have a pleasant visual experience when they visit your site.

bwh Web Designs specializes in pretty, clean, well-organized web site design. Contact bwh Web Designs today for help with your web site design and marketing.

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Is there really a difference in how you market a web site? Or can you apply the same principles that are used in marketing a brick-and-mortar store?

Yes and no. In one sense web site marketing is the same since you’re still selling your product or service. The question is, in an analogy comparing a web site to a brick-and-mortar store, where does the web site fall?

Here are some of the suggestions I’ve heard marketers give to web site owners: Make your web site bold with lots of bright colors. You need to have a splash page. And more along the same lines.

All of those suggestions are in line with what a billboard or a magazine ad might be like. But a web site really doesn’t compare to a billboard or magazine ad. Their purpose is to attract attention and draw you in.

Just as you wouldn’t make your store look like a magazine ad, you shouldn’t do that to your web site. Experts in web site marketing agree that content is what really matters.

It isn’t that looks don’t matter, I’ll even address that in another article in this series. Just think about it though. Do you really want bright colors dominating your web site. I’m thinking of the really bright neon colors. The ones that are hard to look at for too long. Save the bright colors for your own billboard or advertising. Don’t blind your visitors with them.

As for splash pages, they don’t really serve a useful purpose. They add an extra page with a graphic image or a Flash animation on it. There usually is no text. And they use a redirect to take the visitor to the main site. Or at least those that haven’t already left.

Internet visitors are on a mission. They have in mind what they need and that is their focus. They generally are also very smart and incredibly impatient. Don’t turn them off before they get a chance to see what you have to offer.

If you’re going to talk with a marketer, make sure they are well-versed in online marketing. In fact, ask them for references. If they tell you marketing a web site is the same as offline marketing - run! While there are similarities, there are also important differences. Your web site deserves the attention of someone who knows about web site marketing.

Contact bwh Web Designs today for help with your web site marketing.

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What do we mean by Marketing? The dictionary has this to say:

the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

Web site or Internet Marketing can be defined similarly. The difference is the medium used for selling. A web site is different from a brick-and-mortar store. There isn’t always a physical location. And there isn’t someone for the visitor to talk to. It is even different from a sales catalog. While there are similarities to a catalog, you can’t sit down and flip through the pages of a web site in quite the same way.

Web sites are unique entities. They have a lot to offer and in many ways are better than a brick-and-mortar store or even a catalog. Ever tried shopping a department store at 3 AM? In your PJs? Can’t be done. Ever wanted to see a larger image of something in a catalog? Or different views? Also can’t be done. A web site can also provide more information than a catalog. Catalogs are space limited because of the cost of ink, paper and postage.

At what point should you begin looking at marketing for your web site? After it’s live? During design? Internet marketing starts with your domain name, and continues all the way to the content on your web site. Unlike a brick-and-mortar store, you don’t have a salesperson to talk with your visitors. Your web site is the salesperson.

Ideally, web site marketing isn’t something you do to your site after it goes live. It’s an integral part of all that is done to and for your website. If you don’t consider web site marketing from the beginning, you’ll spend more money later reworking your web site based on your marketing needs. Which isn’t to say that it can’t be done after the fact. It can. But if you have the luxury of choosing, consider website marketing from day one.

Contact bwh Web Designs today for help with your web site marketing.

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I’ve had a lot of questions from clients about marketing. Once you have your web site up, you want to bring traffic to your site. That means being found on Google and other search engines. And, more importantly, you want to bring in customers. It’s not really enough that they visit your web site. You want them to buy your product or service. How do we make all that happen?

I have an interest in this topic for 2 reasons. First, I have a service to sell. Second, I really want all my clients to succeed. To that end, I have been researching what it takes to promote your web site.

There is a part of promotion that is the job of the web designer. Once a site is running, there are a number of things that the web site owner can do to make sure their web site gets more traffic. I’ll be addressing many of these things, for both the web designer and web site owner, in this series.

Marketing on the web is different from other marketing formats. I often hear marketers tell web site owners that their home page needs to be flashy, have bright colors, even (shudder) that it should have a splash page. Flashy, colorful, attention-getting printed advertisements or magazine covers may work well. But their purpose is to draw attention to that ad or magazine. That way you’ll look at that ad or magazine. But that analogy doesn’t extend to the web site.

In this series, I’ll be addressing what works and what doesn’t for your home page. I’ll be talking about SEO and Black Hat SEO. I’ll also be presenting some ideas on marketing - both online and offline.

Stay tuned for more on Marketing Your Web Site.

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Here’s a bit of show and tell from recent Close Up Jewelry Photography Classes. I have before and after shots taken by 2 of my recent students. Well, truthfully, the after photos were taken in class. But, these are pictures taken by the students with their cameras. Add some instruction, proper lighting, focus techniques and staging and improvement happens.

First, here is a picture that Maureen had taken, before taking my class:

And this is a picture that Maureen took during class:

Maureen works with Polymer Clay and created the pendant and earrings in the pictures. Somehow she combines the Polymer Clay with Swarovski Crystals. I think there’s a bit of magic in there.

Maureen doesn’t yet have a website, but that should change, don’t you think?

And now for some work by Sue. Sue works primarily with Swarovski Crystals. Though she also does some nice PMC work too. You can see Sue’s work on her website on Etsy.

Here’s a picture Sue sent me - this is Before class:

And here’s After:

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We’ve just scheduled Close Up Jewelry Photography Classes for the Fall of 2007. They are as follows:

• Sunday, October 14
• Sunday, November 4
• Sunday, December 2

All classes run from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Click on a date above to sign up for a class. See bwh Web Designs for full class description. Can’t make any of those dates? Leave a comment here telling when would be a good time for you.

And, there’s still room in the class scheduled on Saturday, September 1!

Hope to see you in a class!

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Last Friday, I held a private photography class at my house for a mother/daughter team. We had loads of fun, although once or twice we got a bit off topic.

And again, everyone learned something. If you’re interested in Close Up Photography, let me know. I do arrange classes at other times and places than what is scheduled.

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Many people have commented that, on my websites, none of my links open in a new window. The only exception is when a client, having heard my reasoning, still insists on opening links in a new window. I’ll do it for them, but it’s really not the best practice.

Those who argue for it will tell me that I am driving my potential customers away. Maybe, but if they leave that easily, they probably weren’t all that interested anyway. With modern browsers, someone interested in staying on my site can open the link in another tab, at their choosing. I do that all the time.

There is another school of thought on the subject. It has mainly to do with accessibility issues. While it may be obvious to you that a new window opened, it isn’t to everyone. Some people have their browsers maximized so that they can see it better. When you open a new window, they may not realize it. And so, when they try to go back using the Back button on their browser, the back button doesn’t work. Also, people with poor or no vision use readers such as JAWS to read web pages and are likely to miss the fact that an entirely new window has opened. Furthermore, they have lost the ability to use the Back button.

I’ve done a lot of research on this topic and have made the decision to make my websites accessible to as many people as possible. While I’m well aware that I could lose a visitor by not opening a new window for an external link, I’m also thinking of those who will encounter problems BECAUSE I opened a new window. So for my sites, I choose NOT to open a new window.

Most browsers make it easy to open a link in a new window, or as a tab. Someone who is truly interested in my site is likely to do this if they want to follow another link. I’m also likely to irritate a visitor by opening a new window.

If you’re interested, here are just a few places that talk about this issue:
Not opening new windows - from Dive Into Accessibility
Top 10 Mistakes of Web Design - Points 1 & 2
Strict HTML 4.01 doesn’t validate when you open links in a new window

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In today’s world, the savvy online visitor wants to be sure they are dealing with someone reputable. Here a couple of things you can do to assure your online visitors that you are who you say you are.

First, if you use PayPal, are you verified with PayPal? If so, it should say verified when you log in. It looks something like this:

If you are Verified with PayPal, then you can get the seal and have it put up on your website. It will let your visitors know that you’ve been verified with PayPal. Here’s what the seal looks like:

When a visitor clicks on the seal, they will see a page similar to this (they have to be logged in to PayPal to see it):

Another thing you can do to provide an extra level of assurance to your visitors is to have your domain certified. I’ve actually had people contacting me wanting to know how they could be sure I was legitimate. There’s a fee associated with this, but it’s fairly cheap and is good for 2 years. The process involves confirming that the contact information in the WHOIS database is correct and points to a real person. It’s simple to implement. You’ll then have a seal to put on your site that looks something like this:

When a visitor clicks on the seal, they see a page like this:

Contact bwh Web Designs today if you’re interested in either of these options.

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This is a list of items that I, and many others, do not like to see on websites. Consider this when you’re designing a site, because it’s important. So what if someone doesn’t like it? Well, there are tons of websites out there, and unless you’re the only website selling your product or service, you should care. Some things on this list will cause me to automatically leave a website, regardless of what is on it.

1. Under construction signs - Why? Why do you want to take a visitor to a page that only contains a message that there is nothing on this page? Better to have a message when they hover that tells the visitor that option is not yet available. Or, perhaps leave the option off entirely until it’s ready. Just don’t make me go to a page for no reason.
2. Stock pictures of people made out to be employees or customers. I don’t even know why websites think this will attract my attention.
3. Ad pages that you’re forced to view when you click on a link. I may stay on a site that does it, generally because I need to be there. But still, I find it irritating.
4. Splash pages. In the early days of the web, these were common. I even confess to having created one many, many years ago. But they truly serve no purpose. To those who think they impress the visitor - They don’t.
5. “This site best viewed in ” - This sentence is usually completed with some version of IE. I don’t know why they would create a site that is best viewed in only one browser. That just speaks to the shortcomings of the developer. And it doesn’t take into account the fact that many people can’t or don’t use IE. I work on a Mac. The last version of IE created for a Mac is 5.2. It has a copyright date of 2001. Microsoft has decided not to update IE for the Mac. Because of its age, IE for Mac no longer works well with most sites. And that’s just the Mac users. There are other operating systems as well as other people who prefer other browsers to IE.
6. Sites that feel the need to adjust your browser’s window size. I think these sites are misguided in their intent. They are trying to accommodate lower resolution PCs by making the window larger - so that the entire site can be seen. But it irritates me when they do that. I have a fairly high resolution monitor. I like my screen arranged the way it is. If you insist on messing with it, I’m going to insist on going elsewhere.
7. Sites that check if you are running IE and won’t let you in if you aren’t. I’ve even heard that some sites are already insisting that you run IE7. This is an extension of item 5, but it is worse. Suggesting that a site is best viewed in IE is one thing. But not letting me in unless I’m running IE? I cannot imagine a website that I would want to get to bad enough that I would change computers in order to visit. This is further evidence of developers with a limited knowledge of web development.
8. Flash and other moving things - even animated GIFs. This is much more than a preference. I suffer from migraines. The motion on a page can trigger a migraine for me. There are also many people that are bothered by motions for other reasons - such as those with epilepsy and cognitive disorders. If your website has much motion on it, many people, myself included, will have to leave your site immediately.
9. Websites that play a video ad when you first get to them. This is so annoying. If nothing else, consider the fact that your visitor might be somewhere that they don’t want sound playing - at work, a coffee shop, etc. There is a local website that had a video ad for a car dealer on it. It took me several visits before I even associated the voice with the ad. So, not only was it annoying, but it was ineffective advertising.
10. Music and Sound - If you’re a musician, I can understand having music on your site. Even then, it’s annoying if I’m not expecting it. If you have music, provide me an option to turn it off. Better still, provide the option to turn it ON and leave it off by default. And please, never have someone start talking to me. I’m not going to listen anyway because I’ll be busy hitting the Back button! More importantly, consider those who are visually impaired. They use screen readers such as JAWS in order to ‘view’ a website. If you have sound playing automatically, it could interfere with their reader. This would make your website inaccessible to those with vision problems.

If you notice, many of the items on my list refer to advertising. It annoys me that advertisers are turning the web into an commercial nightmare. There are better ways. Use text ads or ads with static graphics instead. If you have an annoying ad, I’m likely not to buy the advertisers product, and I’m likely to leave your website. Remember, your website is not unique. If people don’t like what they find on your website, they can easily vote with their feet. And your left wondering why you have no sales…

That’s my 2 cents, your mileage may vary. Have something else you find annoying? By all means, leave a comment.

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